Towards an integration of physical activity and environmental awareness: analysis of students’ activity in physical education

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background The need for greater attention to Environmental Education (EE) is increasing as awareness of the environmental emergency grows. However, Physical Education (PE), through its physical dimension and the diversity of activities that can take place in nature, seems to provide a favourable context for creating a sense of belonging to the environment, while actively pursuing greater human awareness of our negative impact on it. Purpose With this focus, we were interested in the behaviour of students within programmes integrating PE and EE, in outdoor activities, like orienteering. Methods A Mixed Methods Research (MMR) approach was used to analyse the activity and experiences of 6th grade students during traditional orienteering lessons and during ‘environmental’ orienteering lessons. Accelerometric measurements of movements and audio recordings via dictaphone USB keys were undertaken to assess students’ levels of physical activity (PA) in both conditions and to evidence their communications. Findings Our results show a preservation of the active dimension of the lessons since the students’ PA levels are significantly higher during the ‘environmental’ condition compared to traditional lessons. Three student profiles emerge from analyses of audio recordings, highlighting heterogeneity of concerns between orienteering content, observation of the environment and off-task discussions. Conclusions These results demonstrate the usefulness of MMR for analysing students’ physical and cognitive activity in PE lessons. Data obtained show that it is possible to integrate environmental content into PE programmes, without compromising the active characteristic of the lesson.